Limited companies must register their beneficial owners with the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies (RBO).
It is considered a breach of statutory duty not to file with the RBO within 5 months of incorporation.
The penalties for not complying with RBO requirements include fines of up to €5,000 for individuals and €500,000 for companies. Also non-filing will result in delays or rejections in opening bank accounts, applying for loans and obtaining government grants.
A beneficial owner usually is a person who owns more than 25% of the shares, controls more than 25% of the voting rights or who has the power to appoint or remove directors or managers.
The information that is required for RBO registration includes the following details of each beneficial owner:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Residential address
- Tax number
- Date of entry as a beneficial owner
- Nature and extent of ownership or control
If no natural persons are identified as beneficial owners, there shall be entered in the RBO the names and details of the natural persons who hold the positions of a senior managing officials of the company. Relevant entities shall keep complete records of the actions undertaken to identify the beneficial owners.
The forename and surname filed with the RBO must match the legally registered name of the natural person.
The RBO Registrar rejects applications for the following reasons:
- PPSN and/or date of birth is incorrect
- Mismatch on name
- Using maiden name instead of married name and vice versa
- Using middle name in everyday usage, but not matching with forename as registered with DEASP (Paul Smith vs Michael Paul Smith)
- Using shortened versions of a name (Des/Desmond, Eddie/Edward)
- Using variations of a name (Bridget/Breege, Ted/Edward)
- Using Irish version of a name when English version is registered with DEASP (Eibhlínn/Eileen)
- Using English version of a name when Irish version is registered with DEASP (Eileen/Eibhlínn)
- Mix-up on entering details for multiple beneficial owners.